Haunted
by Tabetha Winters
Summary: -AU- He thought all people were the same, cruel and mean, however, it was funny how one girl changed him, even if they hardly ever talked to one another. -The other side of Paper Flowers, Zick’s side of the story.-
1. Haunted

Haunted

Summery: He thought all people were the same, cruel and mean, however, it was funny how one girl changed him, even if they hardly ever talked to one another. (The other side of Paper Flowers, Zick's side of the story)

* * *

A new family in the neighborhood wasn't something that one got to see everyday, that's why he assumed that people flocked to their windows when a moving van came to a stop in front of a house on their block. However, he couldn't really blame those people because he seemed to be doing the same thing right now as he stared out the window at the moving van that sat right next door. The movers came out of the house again and back into the truck pulling out several more loads of boxes on their dollies and returned in to the house. That was the fourth load of large boxes that he had noticed coming into the house and he couldn't help but sigh as he turned around.

They couldn't be any different then the other people that moved in, no one on this block socialized with him or his family. They didn't know however, they didn't know how hard life was for him and his family. No this had nothing to do with money, why does everything have to be about how much money a person has anyways? Anyways, this had nothing to do with money; his family had things to deal with that weren't normal for other families.

A large ball coming flying by his head caught his attention as he dogged it as it went flying out the window. He sighed looked up the steps and notice bombo standing there with a goofy grin on his face and an apology spilling out of his mouth.

He couldn't help but laugh at the monster despite himself and soon found himself running up the stairs towards the monster who laughed out a little yelp of help and ran up to what he figure was his room when he heard a door slam shut. He was about to follow when he heard the sound of footsteps making their way though his backyard.

Drawing close to the window he didn't see anything, figuring it was just his imagination he made his way back downstairs and to his mothers garden completely forgetting about the monster upstairs that was probably eating his shoes right now.

It didn't matter to him that his mother was the only one that understood him. He rather enjoyed the attention and it didn't matter that everyone else thought he was a freak, being and only child his mother was the only one that he could relate to. Something caught his attention as he worked with his mother and he looked up at her, she nodded for him to check the front door and he got to his feet and walked back into the house.

Something caught his attention as he noticed the door now had a very large cat sticking in though the doggy door of the house. Figuring the cat was hungry and just got lost and stuck he walked over pulling on the door and was surprised when a girl fell to the ground in front of him.

_I'm so tired of being here  
Suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
'Cause your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone_

Not many words were exchanged between the two as he shut the door in the girls face, the cat disappeared from the doorway and he could hear her rants about shutting the door on her though the door, he smiled but that soon faded, she couldn't be any better then the other people that he had know, she was just like everyone else. And he wanted nothing to do with her, or them.

He knew his assumptions were right when he got a glance of the girl handing out with Patty and Mattie and the rest of her spoiled friends when the school year had stared. They had always considered him a freak and if she was hanging out with them he knew she'd feel the same way. However, he came to find out the girl was rather pleasant. There were seated next to one another in class and when she could they were exchange a few words of pleasantry to one another with out many problems maybe she was different, maybe she could be his friend.

However, sometimes people change…

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
this pain is just too real  
there's just too much that time cannot erase_

The simple years of elementary school had flown by and the girls had changed when they had returned to school their middle school year, they arrived decked out in jackets that read 'Pink Ladies' on the back he felt his stomach churn. He knew she'd end up the same.

He hadn't expected a relationship to continue with the girl as she grew in popularly as a Pink Lady and despite the fact that she'd try to approach him and talk to him he gave her the same response, a small smile and a simple goodbye. He was trying to save the girl from the burden of feeling responsible of a small friendship that wasn't even there in elementary school. People grow older and change. And he didn't expect her to be any different. She was human after all. She shouldn't have to carry on with him. It wasn't his fault he was lonely.

They say that even people that are alone could make friends however, and he was no different, there were two other people in this world that knew how he was feeling. Their names were Ford and Soup, they had been outcast from and elementary school friendship from the other two girls in that group, the 'Pink Ladies' terrors of the school, and now he felt as though this is were he belong, the outcast, and maybe, just maybe he could make this work.

More time had passed, and with that a new tradition had grown among the 'Pink Ladies' a flower made out of paper had become a common object when they were around, this was a term of affection among the girls and this meant that anyone that received on would not only be automatically popular, they'd become almost drawn away from the rest of the student population into a form of a secret society that would be later name the 'T-Birds' the love interest of the 'Pink Ladies' in the movie Grease.

He often sat at lunch, slowly sipping at his milk as he listen to his two friends that sat across from them, talk about how much they would love to receive one of those flowers. He'd still sit there completely unfazed by it however, who would want fake popularity. Who though that one silly little piece of folded paper could cause so many problems.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have  
All of me_

It had been their Freshman year in high school when his worst fears had been confirmed, despite the fact that the 'T-Birds' the boys who were once the girls love interest had now become the girl boyfriends, he hard realized that he had fallen in love with the girl next door, he couldn't believed that he had let it happened. Could hate had turned into love?

She had yet to have given out a flower and he couldn't believe how beautiful she had become, he red hair that used to sit in braids along side her head now sat falling straight down her back almost her waste, her attired had change from a fade jacket to a real leather jacket that had professionally made letters that read 'Pink Ladies' on the back, something however, hadn't change, her eyes, they were the same, they were the thing that haunted him.

He had been out late that night, he taken over running small things for the flower shop for his mother and had spend most of the night completing the ordering for the store and closing up a large order of flowers that need to get out by the end of the week. Now he walked along a shallow street, the only sound was of his feet shuffling on the stone sidewalk.

A soft breeze blew past him and something landed by his feet, stopping in his tracks he reached down and picked up the item. He felt his eyes shoot up from the object in his hand to a small house that was next to his, a window on the house was open, however the room inside was dark. He knew exactly who that window belong to as he pushed open the gate of his house and walked up the stone walk way to his front door clutching the paper flower that he had found in his hand as he entered inside the house.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have  
All of me_

His affection for the girl had remained well hidden, however, the fact that the 'T-Birds' had become their bullies hadn't made it easy to forget about her, she was something special, and despite the fact that he watched her arrive with the rest of her friend her 'Pink Ladies' and leave with her friend and their boyfriends everyday. They did sometimes exchange eye contact and small words of hello as they passed in the halls.

He wished they could have more; he wished he could put aside all the group of high school and have an actual change together. However, this only made him feel worse, he knew that they would never have a change, she was one of them. She would never feel that way about him…

Graduation day had arrived rather quickly and he sat there in his black robe watching her stand at the podium with a smile on her face as words flowed out of her mouth, her speech of dreams of the future and best wishes to all her class would normal sound redundant however, it was a lovely speech. He clapped among the loudest as her speech ended and she made her way back to the rest of her friends.

The rest of the ceremony had gone off without a hitch and he did his best to find her, he caught a glimpse of her here and there when he would be pulled into hugs by another random person, however, he couldn't find her again when he returned to the car with his family and he felt at a loss.

Her house was still empty when they had returned home and he made his way upstairs to get change out of the robes and relax. However as he was pulling on his shirt he noticed her parents car pulling into the drive way. He felt a wave of happiness and fear rise in him all over him again as he found himself making his way out of the room and down to the side walk to go and talk to her.

She loading things into her mother's car, boxes that he figure contained her stuff and was about to turn and head into the house without even realizing that he was there, however he found himself speaking before he realized it.

"So you're leaving."

_You used to captivate me  
By your resonating life  
Now I'm bound by the life you've left behind  
Your face it haunts  
My once pleasant dreams  
Your voice it chased away  
All the sanity in me_

She turned around and came face to face him and he found himself becoming lost in those eyes again, however, was she going to speak to him, after years of what happened between them…

"Yes." Came her soft cracking voice and he couldn't help but smile at her as she tired her best to catch a bag that had fallen out of the car. He caught it with one hand and was able to get it sitting up right again without much effort. This is the first time in years that they had been so close. She didn't say anything after a minute and he became worried, was she going to yell at him…what was going on though her head?

"Hey!" he called to her snatching her attention back and he glanced at her face, was that a hint of a blush on her face…no he had to be imagining it.

"Sorry, I'm just tried from graduation." Came her short reply and he found himself nodding at the girl who wouldn't meet her eyes with his again.

"Yeah I understand." Was his short reply and he looked at his feet finding the ground rather amusing at the moment. What was he doing her? What was he thinking? He didn't know what to say to her.

He spoke again before he realized it and he turned to meet her face.

"I guess I better let you finish packing." He couldn't believe that he had come all the ways out here to talk to her, the girl that he…possibly loved, and only said a handful of words to her. He never felt so stupid. He turned to leave but was surprised when her voice calling to him.

"Wait!"

His mind swam as he was trying to figure out if he had really head that turning to the girl he looked at her and she was still standing there trying to form words. "What?" was all he was able to respond to her however.

"I've…" she began softly, "I've wanted to get to know you for years, please this may be our last chance, please I at least want to know that we can leave on good terms."

He started at her trying to figure out if what she was saying was a joke or not but after a second reached out his hand to hers. Feeling his own tears of joy starting to brim at his eyes but he did all he could to hide them.

"Let's just start over from the beginning. Forget everything that's happen and start over, I'm Zick Barrymore, I've lived next door to your for years we went to the same elementary, junior and high school together, and now I'm off to college much like you…"

He felt himself smile as she extended her hand to his and shook it with a small amount of force.

"I'm Elena Potato, but don't call me potato I hate that name, yes we did go to the same schools together and I was in some loser gang called the pink ladies which jacket I'm ready to burn, its nice to meet you Zick."

He smiled even wider this time, he couldn't believe that all of this was happening, everything he though about this girl was wrong. She had changed everything that he had ever believed about people. However, this realization was cut short when another voice broke into the conversation.

"Ellie, honey I've got your last bag its time to go."

"Alright." She called.

Zick pulled away from her and smiled softly running on of his hands though his hard making it even more of a mess then it already was. She smiled back at him.

"Well good luck where ever your going and I hope that you have a great life."

"Yeah you too Zick." She replied and upon pulling something out of her pocket she placed it in his hand and a kiss on his cheek.

"I don't know if you remember, but my stupid gang that I was apart of gave paper flowers to the guys that they like and well I guess mine belongs to you."

He didn't say anything and she smiled climbing into the car and they pulled out of the driveway leaving Zick there waving at them as their car entered the street and drove away.

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
But though you're still with me  
I've been alone all along_

Zick stood on the side walk for a little while longer the flower that was made out of pink paper in his hand. He looked at it again upon flipping it over it had Elena's curvy handwriting on it. A small smile formed on his face as he noticed the writing on the flower and upon placing it in his pocket her walked home thinking about the words that she had written to him.

_I wanted you to know, I was always curious about you; I didn't know that curiosity could turn to love. I sorry we never had a chance together but if you'd like to pick up where we left off you can always give ourselves that chance._

_Love,_

_Elena Potato_

P.S. 145 Shattuck St. Room 534 B  
Boston, MA 02115-6092

Elena caught a glimpse of Zick as the car pulled away from the house and down the hill and she could see a smile on his face, however, there was a small amount of sadness in her heart as the car dove further and further away from the place that used to be her home. Would she ever see him again? She didn't know but she did know one thing, she was able to talk to the boy that she question, and now knew she loved.

* * *

I don't know what made me write this and I'm sorry if its not a good as paper flowers but before I wrote this I never intended to write a story from Zick POV but now that I've done it I'm happy with it. Please don't forget to review. Oh there is an epolige coming but it might be a little while I haven't written it yet. It will be short like the one in paper flowers but still it will be good . I hope you liked this, don't forget to review.


	2. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

He felt the snow crunch under his feet as he made his way out of the car the car door coming to a soft click behind him as it shut. He stared up at the large building before him as his breath came out in short whips in front of him.

Shoving his hands into the pocket of his brown jacket that he had wrapped around his body he slowly came around to the cleared sidewalk and towards the building. What he was doing here he wasn't sure, but he knew he couldn't ignore the fact that he wanted to be with Elena.

Pulling open the door of the building he smiled as the warm air hit him. It was a relief to his cold face and almost frozen fingers. It had been one hell of a car ride up here. The car that he had borrowed from a friend to come up here had no heater what so ever and when that blizzard hit he was sure that he was going to get frost bite.

Reaching a bank of elevators he pressed the button to call the elevator and returned his cold hands into his pockets. His fingers prickling to life caught his attention and then he realized that he was feeling something else in the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out the object and smiled. Reading the words over and over again he couldn't smile.

_Elena,_

_You said you were always curious about me, well I could say the same about you, you never ceased to amaze me and everything about you was so wonderful that I found myself before I knew it falling for you. I would love another chance to get to know you and I'm sure that if you're willing to have me I'll be here for you always._

_Love always,_

_Zick_

The elevator dinged softly as he stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor, and the elevator rose softly. Some part of him wanted to press the cancel button on the elevator return to the bottom floor and drive back home without a look back, however, the other half wanted to continue. He wanted to see Elena, and after the note that she left him, he had to do something.

The doors slid open and he walked down the hallway towards Elena's room coming to a stop in front of room 534 B, he pulled his hands out of his pocket and the flower as well and stood there. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. His feet moved before he realized and he ducked into the doorway of another room. He heard her door slide open and there was a pause before he heard the door shut again. A small smile graced his lips as he realized that the flower that he had placed there was now gone.

Walking back over he smiled as he made his way back over to the door, and found himself knocking on the door again. After a minute the door was opened again and he felt a smile gracing his lips as he noticed Elena standing there in the doorway, looking more beautiful and happier then he had ever seen here.

"Hi Elena." Was all he was able to get out before she crushed him in a hug, the funny thing was though as he found himself wrapping his arms around her was that he wasn't cold anymore, not even a little bit. Not at all.


End file.
